Bowling alley bumper systems were designed to be used by children as well as others who lack the physical coordination or strength to bowl, i.e., project a majority of the balls over the length of the alley without ending up in one of the gutters. An example of one such system is disclosed my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,716, which is assigned to the same assignee as the present application and which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
One of the primary purposes of bumper bowling is to introduce children to the game of bowling and at the same time to provide the entertainment and excitement of bowling to a broader segment of the population. Bumper bowling also provides a more interesting game for novice bowlers as they develop their bowling skills.
However, it is now believed that there is a relatively large number of young or novice bowlers who may lack the attention span to enjoy conventional bumper bowling and others who may be discouraged as they see more skillful bowlers progress more rapidly than themselves. For this reason, it is believed that there is a demand for a game of bumper bowling wherein the advantages of skill are minimized and where the path of a bowling ball is unpredictable or erratic as it rolls down the lane.
In the past, there have been several approaches for manufacturing toys or other balls which may follow an erratic path. For example, the U.S. patents of Schultz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,855, and Farmer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,737, disclose toy or erratically rollable balls which have a counterweight disposed in a hollow core. Such balls may be suitable for play but are not suitable for use in bumper bowling. For example, such balls do not look like an ordinary bowling ball with respect to outer surface, size, texture, hole configuration, hardness and the like. Such balls would not provide the pin action which is desirable in the game of bowling.
It has now been found that a bowling ball, in accordance with the present invention, provides the desired pin action and has the other desirable characteristics of a bowling ball and at the same time provide the random or erratic movement which will hold the attention of younger bowlers in a game of bumper bowling.